Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride and humility that I stand and pay tribute to the wisdom, courage, and determination of the Wet'suwet'en and Gitxsan leaders of northern British Columbia.

Today, marks the 20th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision known as Delgamuukw-Gisday’wa. After generations of struggle, these elders stood in our highest court and won not only a victory for their nations but also for first nations across Canada by proving that oral history must have equal standing in our courts. Delgamuukw tore down a stone from the wall of legal and colonial oppression. That day 20 years ago did not only change the history of Canada, it changed our very idea of history. It has been said that the arc of the moral universe is long but bends toward justice. While the history of the federal government with respect to this land's first peoples is filled with shame, the struggle for justice is of a far greater power.

Today, we honour the Wet'suwet'en and Gitxsan elders for their determination in opening all our eyes to a more just and beautiful country.

Mr. Speaker, the eyes of Canada's curling world were focused on the Roar of the Rings tournament this past weekend in Ottawa that featured teams from across Canada. Olympic spots were on the line. I was there and the competition was fierce. The fans were passionate. It was a curling competition at its best.

After many games, lots of cheering, agonizing losses, and triumphant victories, it was down to the finals on Sunday. For the women, the final match saw Team Homan of Ottawa best Calgary's Chelsea Carey, Cathy Overton-Clapham, Jocelyn Peterman, and Laine Peters.

On the men's side, Manitoba's Team McEwen was bested by Calgary's finest. A hearty congratulations to Calgary's skip Kevin Koe and his team of Marc Kennedy, Brent Laing, and Ben Hebert. They are off to the Olympics. Calgary and the rest of Canada will be cheering for them every step of the way.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark International Human Rights Day, a day to reflect on the enormous strides we have made in advancing human rights both in Canada and around the world. It is also a day to recommit to ensuring that the principles outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are fulfilled.

This sesquicentennial year, Canadians celebrated the 35th anniversary of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We have advanced human rights by accepting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; through a historic apology to the LGBTQ2 community for past wrongs; by the introduction of a national housing strategy that looks at housing as a fundamental human right; and by a meeting of federal-provincial-territorial ministers on human rights, the first such gathering in 29 years.

Human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent, and interrelated. As Canadians, we need to strive toward the attainment of human rights for all. It is the greatest legacy we can leave our children.

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is currently under investigation because he accepted a free trip, and his Minister of Finance is under investigation for a potential conflict of interest concerning the pension bill. The Ethics Commissioner is so busy with the Liberals that we are not certain that she will complete her investigations by the end of her term in office.

Will the Prime Minister commit to ensuring that the investigations will continue after the Ethics Commissioner is replaced?

Mr. Speaker, as I have often said, I have recused myself from any discussion concerning the appointment of the next conflict of interest and ethics commissioner. Moreover, four of my staff members have set up an ethics screen to prevent them from participating in these discussions.

Having said that, my team responsible for appointments will continue to provide the same support to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and her staff as it does to all other ministers' offices, and as it has done for hundreds of appointments right across government.

Mr. Speaker, I can understand how inconvenient it is for the cabinet that the Prime Minister cannot answer these questions because he is under investigation. However, Canadians need to know.

Normally a new ethics commissioner would be appointed by government after consulting with the opposition and a parliamentary committee hearing for the nominee, but the Liberals are trying to ram this appointment through.

If the Prime Minister cannot answer this himself, is there someone over there who could make the commitment that members of Parliament will have the opportunity to interview the nominee for the Ethics Commissioner before the appointment is official?

Mr. Speaker, after 10 years of the kind of patronage that the previous government put forward, we put forward an independent, merit-based process for government appointments. This ensures that government appointments are not only of the highest quality, but reflect the range and scope of experiences and diversity that make Canada strong.

I know that every member of this House relies on the impartial and expert advice that the Conflict of Interest and Ethics commissioner will give, and I have the utmost confidence that the government House leader is managing this appointment process appropriately and as must be expected.

Mr. Speaker, during the election campaign, the Prime Minister promised that no veterans would have to fight their own government for the support and compensation they had earned.

For the past two years, however, our veterans have been forced to fight this Prime Minister. Now there are reports that the backlog for veterans' disability benefits has grown by 50% since the end of March. Our veterans deserve unqualified respect, because they defended Canada.

Mr. Speaker, here is what happened. For 10 years, the Conservative government closed veterans' service centres. It exploited the image of veterans, yet neglected to provide them with the services and benefits they were entitled to. However, over the past two years, we have reopened these service centres and invested much more money to support veterans, in addition to providing them with much more help. Veterans are starting to come to us with suggestions. After losing hope under the previous government, they are getting back into the system, our new system, and that is a good thing.

Mr. Speaker, like many Canadians, veterans are now realizing that the Prime Minister said just about anything during the campaign to get elected. It is the Liberal government's record that has resulted in an increase of 50% for the backlogs of these cases. That is on him and his government, nobody else's.

The defence ombudsman has made simple, easy recommendations to improve the transition of our armed forces members onto the veterans affairs payroll, and this Prime Minister has yet to act on any of them. When will he start listening to the advice of experts and stand up for our vets?

Mr. Speaker, it is fairly straightforward what happened. So many veterans had abandoned the idea of getting help under the previous government that now that we are putting in place systems and benefits they can access, reopening offices that Conservatives shuttered, more and more veterans are coming forward to claim what this government, and all governments, owe them.

This is a good thing. What is great is that we have been tooling up over the past years so that we can give all the veterans what they are entitled to. The veterans coming forward to claim their benefits—

Mr. Speaker, only to a Liberal would increasing spending and getting worse results be a good thing. Canadians are sick at this point of the attitude. It is not just veterans who are realizing that the government has had a mean-spirited and cold-hearted attitude towards them. Those who have applied for disability tax credits have realized it as well.

Just last week, the Minister of National Revenue told this House, “I would like to reassure all Canadians who receive the disability tax credit that the eligibility criteria have not changed.”

However, on Friday, her parliamentary secretary apologized for that very change, which saw 80% of applicants seeing their claims denied.

Can the Prime Minister explain, if there was not a policy change, exactly what did his government apologize for?

Mr. Speaker, as a government, we are committed to ensuring that citizens get all the benefits to which they are entitled. That is something we have been focused on over the past two years, and that is something that we are delivering on. We have heard that the clarification letter has resulted in negative impacts, and that is why we are looking at it carefully, to ensure that indeed we are getting the delivery of services that Canadians expect.

Mr. Speaker, things have been going downhill for veterans ever since this government came to power two years ago. Sooner or later, the government is going to have to take responsibility for that.

It is the Government of Canada's responsibility and duty to ensure that those who have served our country are not left out in the cold, but apparently 71% of veterans are still waiting longer than three months to get their pension. That has a significant negative impact on their finances and their lives.

Will the Prime Minister ensure that pensions and support for veterans and their families are in place before they leave the army?

Mr. Speaker, over the past two years, we have worked hard to restore the level of service our veterans expect and deserve.

We still have work to do, but we note that many veterans are submitting their applications under a system that failed them for 10 years under the Conservative government.

That is why we are working very hard to meet the requirements. We have reopened nine service centres for veterans, and we will keep working hard to ensure that this government recognizes our veterans' extraordinary service and sacrifices.

Mr. Speaker, with less than a third of cases actually meeting departmental targets, the government is barely paying lip service to veterans. The department remains understaffed, thanks to Conservative cuts and the Liberals' failure to hire enough staff to meet increased demands, and veterans are still waiting to hear what the government's new promised pension scheme will be.

What is the delay? Where is the plan? Will the minister release his plan for our country's veterans before the House rises?

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that we have worked very, very hard over the past two years to restore the kinds of benefits that our veterans deserve and that they did not get under 10 years of a Conservative government. There is much to do, and there continues to be more to do. We look forward to continuing to work with veterans groups to ensure that the new lifelong pension is restored to the level that everyone can expect. These are the kinds of things that we know need to happen, and they need to happen right, and that is why we are taking it so very, very seriously.

Mr. Speaker, newspapers are closing across the country, and the principle of a free and democratic press is actually in jeopardy. The favouritism that the government is showing to American digital giants such as Netflix is a large part of the problem. After confusingly defending her scheme, the heritage minister threw the ball in the finance minister's court, who left her hanging by confirming that he will continue giving Netflix a free pass.

With his cabinet in disarray on this issue, the Prime Minister must step in and defend the press. Will he do it?

Mr. Speaker, the first thing we did when we came into office was to lower taxes on the middle class and raise them on the wealthiest 1%. Therefore, despite what the Conservatives and the NDP propose, we will not be raising taxes on Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Canadian Heritage came back to Montreal on Friday to say the same thing she had said two months ago. The only difference was that she added that she had heard Quebec and would stop defending Netflix's tax break, but that the Minister of Finance would have to be consulted.

Quebec is united in condemning the unfair tax treatment enjoyed by Netflix and other web giants. Everyone is against it, including unions, business leaders, the media, journalists, and artists.

Mr. Speaker, over the past few months, I have had the pleasure of travelling all over Quebec, including Lac-Saint-Jean, where I talked to Quebeckers about their priorities. I can say that not one Quebecker asked me to raise their taxes. Even though the Conservatives and the NDP want to raise taxes on consumers, we are not going to raise taxes on consumers. We are going to continue lowering taxes on the middle class and raising them on the wealthiest Canadians, not on ordinary folk.

Mr. Speaker, on January 1, not long from now, the tax reform will come into force and have an adverse effect on small and medium sized enterprises. They have not received any details. Tax experts have been clear that it is already too late. The minister will be squeezing even more money from businesses. It seems like they are getting a lump of coal for Christmas.

Would the Prime Minister not give Canadians an actual gift instead by firing his Minister of Finance and giving our job creators a break from these repeated attacks?